Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Patrick Koudys played Junior B hockey with the Welland Junior Canadians. Koudys, whose father played in the OHL, was selected in the 7th round of the OHL’s Priority draft by Oshawa.

2009-10: Koudys did not sign with Oshawa and played for the Junior A Burlington Cougars of the CCHL. In 50 games, Koudys scored 5 goals and added 28 assists for 33 points. In 12 playoff games, Koudys picked up 1 assist. Koudys originally committed to playing at RPI in 2011-12 but he and the Engineers’ staff felt his progress merited starting his college career a year earlier than planned.

2010-11: Koudys played in 31 games as a freshman at RPI. As part of an Engineers defense corps which featured three veterans including team captain John Kennedy, he scored 1 goal and added 2 assists for 3 points. Koudys was a late addition to the NHL Draft Combine and was ranked 76th amongst North American skaters by Central Scouting. He was selected by Washington in the 5th round (147th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft.

2011-12: Koudys skated in 27 of 39 games for the Engineers and was a healthy scratch in 8 of the last 11 contests – including all five ECAC playoff games. Koudys scored 1 goal with 1 assist and was minus-eight with 22 penalty minutes. He decided to transfer to another school in the spring and will play in the USHL in 2012-13.

2012-13: Koudys returned to junior hockey after two seasons at RPI — skating for the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks. In 64 games he scored 1 goal with 14 assists and was +9 with 95 penalty minutes. One season after finishing with the USHL’s second-worst record, Muskegon reached the playoffs after finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference. The Lumberjacks were swept by eventual Clark Cup champion Dubuque in a quarterfinal series. Koudys was +1 with no points nor penalty minutes in the three-game series. In November 2012 he committed to playing college hockey at Penn State in 2013-14.

2013-14: Koudys returned to college hockey — skating in 36 games for Penn State as a junior. He scored 2 goals with 6 assists and was -21 with 26 penalty minutes. Penn State, playing in its second season of varsity hockey, finished last in the six-team Big Ten Hockey Conference in the league’s first season. The Nittany Lions defeated Michigan 2-1 in double overtime in a conference quarterfinal game before falling to Wisconsin, 2-1, in the Big Ten semifinals.

Talent Analysis

Koudys is a smart, hard-working defenseman with good size that could potentially blossom into an excellent two-way defenseman. A project pick when he was drafted by the Capitals due to his pro-style frame and long reach, Koudys plays a nondescript defensive style and is focused on preventing scoring opportunities. One area that Koudys has been focused on improving during his college career is his foot speed. He moves decently for his size but will be challenged by the faster, more skilled forwards at the pro level.

Future

Koudys is in his senior season at Penn State in 2014-15. After enduring some of the lumps and bruises of a fledgling program playing against some of the college hockey powerhouses, the Nittany Lions have been much more competitive in the second season of Big Ten play. Koudys has been at the heart of things. While his offensive numbers are predictably understated, he has a much-improved plus/minus and has played a leadership role for some of the freshmen and sophomores adapting to college hockey. With any college defensive defenseman it is difficult to determine their perceived potential and Koudys must be signed by Washington by August 2015 or he would become an unrestricted free agent. He will likely require some time at the minor pro level to continue to develop his skills and adapt to the quicker pace of pro hockey. Long-term he appears to have some potential as a lower pairing defending defenseman at the NHL level one day.

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